Solar Motion       Item # SF10240

To use the Solar Motion Model, pivot the compass disk in the north/south direction so that it moves along the scale that is labeled “Latitude”. Align it with the latitude of your location (or one you may be interested in). The compass disk will be perpendicular to the frame, and you are visualized to be at the center of this disk. Next, slide the “Sun” along the outer rim of the frame to the appropriate month. The edge of the compass disk represents the visible horizon for some imaginary person standing in the center of the disk.

To see the path the Sun makes across the sky for that particular latitude and time of year, swing the month portion of the frame completely from the “East” to the “West” as shown on the compass disk. Compare the location of the sunrise and sunset at different times of the year.

How does the length of day change with the seasons? At what latitude must you be so the Sun does not set on the longest day of the year? What would it be like to live at the north pole? You can answer these and many other questions with your Solar Motion Model!